Junior & Youth

Junior & Youth Nationals - Hastings July 2008

It was a cold wet start to the trip with high winds up the country and heavy rain in the Valley to see us on our way to Hastings, but this was never going to dampen the spirits of the kids with a lot of energy being displayed very early in the trip.

Once we had all arrived (Some sooner than others due to the van being smoke free and Pete having no smokers with him having to provide the van with directions) we got settled in and fired up the BBQ for a cooked tea.

After tea the young girls who had been to the supermarket earlier decided it was time to make a start into the 2L ice-cream tubs they had each bought themselves. Some of the older boys decided that rather try and make themselves sick they would rather give their money away in a winner take all game of Texas Hold’ Em.

Sunday saw a late start at the hall with games not starting until 1pm. It wasn’t long after we had arrived that we realised there were no South Island competitors at all at this years nationals and that numbers were down compared to previous years. It is believed that the reason for this is because of the late change of venue from Southland to Hastings and this is likely to have caught the South Island regions short.

Although there were not as many competitors this is not to say that the level of darts was any less, this was evident very early in the first day with the first 180 being scored only 5 minutes into the start of play.

Even with our kids throwing well they were all showing signs of first day nerves, for many of this year’s squad it was their first attempt at the nationals. Surprise pairing for the day was first timers Caleb and Casey who were unable to qualify into the main round but played extremely well making it to the final four in the consolation.  Other results for the day were Justin and Taylor last 16 in the main round and Michael and Kayla getting down to the final 8 in their consolation round.

Monday saw the start of something good with a cold dewy morning that made us feel as though we were back in Wainuiomata, all the kids were awake and ready on time and we got to the hall with plenty of time to warm up and get comfortable.

Once play started it was nerves all over again for our newbie’s and once they had kicked those they were running on 50/50 mixture of sugar and adrenaline. For Kayla and Steph two of our first timers it was a case of not being able to secure doubles when needed and being put into the consolation round were they found their feet and made it all the way to the semi-finals in the youth girls pairs. Another youth girl semi-finalist was Kelly pairing up with a young girl from region 3 and as usual performing well.

Young Kory played his heart out to qualify in the junior boy’s singles main round eventually making it to the semi-finals before being knocked out. Picture of JaredAlso in the junior boy’s singles was Jarrod who didn’t quite make it thru qualifying but was good enough to get runner up in the consolation round.

Picture of Boys WinnersThe major success story for the day was from Marc and Jonathan in the youth boys pairs. After bolting straight from the gate in what looked to be a tough section they managed to come through with only one loss to the eventual finalist’s from region 6. But this was not going to deter them at all if anything it was a want for revenge when they had also made it to the final in the main round beating the region 6 pairing that they had previously lost to 3-1 for the glory and all of its spoils.

Once back at the motel and after a good deal of running around with a rugby and bouncy ball it was time to get ready for a well deserved meal out. We all headed to Breakers and upon arriving we discovered we were not the only region with the same idea with two other region’s already there one of which was celebrating a birthday of one of it’s players and when a candle lit cake appeared we thought it was the dartie thing to do and helped sing the happy birthday song to the birthday girl.

Tuesday gave us a frosty morning with many of the kids finding it difficult to get out of bed. Once arriving at the hall it was all go with most of the kids throwing well enough to qualify in their days events. Marc was called up first in the youth boy’s main round but was unable to produce form and was quickly knocked out.Picture of Teams

Caleb and Kory were also knocked out in their first game up in the junior boy’s pair’s main round. Jonathan was able to keep his cool thru the main round but was out done by Cory from region 9 in the final 8.

This left Kayla the last standing player from Wainui to try and do the business in the youth girl’s singles consolation eventually making it to the semi-finals and being knocked out by a young region 11 player.

The final event of the day was the tournament games with five from Wainuiomata being selected to play. Casey junior girls red team, Rachel junior girls green, Kory junior boys green, Marc youth boys green and Jonathan being selected to captain the youth boys red team. By all accounts the five that made it into the tournament teams played very well and did Wainui proud.

After the games had finished the final prizes were given out Jonathan taking the most 180’s trophy and region 11 taking the best dressed team prize.
Now that the darts had finished it was off to McDonalds and Burger King for tea and then back to the motel for the night.

Wednesday saw us all packing up our belongings and heading back south and back to our families and the comforts of being back home.   

Overall the children selected to represent there regions played extremely well and the behaviour was excellent. They are all assets to the future of darts in New Zealand.

A big thank you to all who have helped the Wainui junior and youth darts this year.  We wouldn’t have been able to take these kids away without your help, If you donated a prize for a raffle or you just brought a ticket we thank you for the support. Also thank you to the chaperones for looking after the children while we were away and finally a thank you and well done to the children who were all well behaved and played to the best of their abilities. 

All in all a good trip, some great darts and some brilliant results for Wainuiomata.

Alex Smith
Wainuiomata Junior and Youth Darts Convener

National Championship 2008 - Junior Results

Event Round Placing Name
Junior Mixed Pairs Main Round Last 16          Justin Huynen - Taylor Delves
Consolation Last 4          Caleb Smith - Casey Satherly
Consolation Last 16          Jared Smith - Rachel Williams
Consolation Last 16          Kory Pagen-Dowie - C Kokiri Price
Junior Boys Singles Main Round Last 8          Kory Pagen-Dowie
Consolation Runner Up          Jared Smith
Consolation Last 16          Caleb Smith
Consolation Last 16          Justin Huynen
Junior Girls Singles Main Round Last 4          Casey Satherly
Last 16          Rachel Williams
Consolation Last 16          Taylor Delves
Junior Boys Pairs Main Round Last 8          Kory Pagen-Dowie - Caleb Smith
Consolation Last 8          Jared Smith - Justin Huynen
Junior Girls Pairs Main Round Last 8          Casey Satherly - Rachel Williams

National Championship 2008 - Youth Results

Event Round Placing Name
Youth Mixed Pairs Main Round Last 16          Jonathan Silcock - Stephanie Huynen
Main Round Last 16          Marc Carberry - Kelly Fishwick
Consolation Last 8          Michael Douglas - Kayla Reeve
Youth Boys Pairs Main Round Winners          Jonathan Silcock - Marc Carberry
Youth Girls Pairs Consolation Last 4          Stephanie Huynen - Kayla Reeve
Consolation Last 4          Kelly Fishwick - Sharyn Wilkinson (Region 3)
Youth Boys Singles Main Round Last 8          Jonathan Silcock
Main Round Last 16          Marc Carberry
Consolation Last 16          Michael Douglas
Youth Girls Singles Main Round Last 16          Stephanie Huynen
Consolation Last 4          Kayla Reeve
Consolation Last 16          Kelly Fishwick

Junior and Youth Triples Tournament

harrows1.gifThe WINNERS of the Tournament were the triples team “Hello”
Rachel Williams, Ashley Porter and Bob Thomas.

The RUNNERS UP were the triples team “Da Fullaz”
Vincent Withers, Luke Withers and Peter Patelesio.

The PLATE WINNERS were triples team “Pink Panthers”
Stephanie Huynen, Ashleigh Derwin and Diane van der Werff

The PLATE RUNNERS UP were triples team “Nui Birds”
Jess, Melisa Brinfield and Sophie Neilson

CONGRATULATIONS to all our winners.

A fantastic day was had by all who participated.  There were 17 Teams in all with some well thought out names either demonstrating spirit or association with the valley.  The stand out for me was “The Sausages”, just love it really. Teams arrived with wigs and some in costumes with the “Tui Chicks” stealing the show. 

tui-chicks-1.gif

The Mentors were a mixed bunch either dart players, parents or family.  They competed well and although it was a bit of a long day they hung in there and gave the kids tremendous support.  We would like to thank the mentors for their support of the juniors and their contribution to a fantastic day.

One of the objectives behind the tournament was to promote Junior and Youth darts to our community and therefore giving opportunity to grow membership to our association.  Ten of the seventeen mates signed up to the WDA for the 2008 season all receiving a free set of darts from Harrows.  Congratulations to Rebecca Williams, Caleb Smith, Crystal Thomson, Lisa Dowie, Kayla Reeve, Stephanie Huynen, Taylor Delves, Jess and Nico.

There were plenty of prizes for everyone with spot prizes provided by Harrows.  The feedback from juniors, mates and mentors was the same …….

WE HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN !!!!

What’s new in 2008

The Junior Youth are well underway for the Season, but there is always room for more young players to join.  This year, George Smith, our coach has introduced a six stage structure into our programme starting at a junior (introductory) level through to the more advanced youth level.  Our programme defines the level of skill for each individual player and rewards achievement as they progress through each stage.

We also have on board a new “Junior Youth Committee” with the aim of providing a  wider support network for our young players along with consistently in raisng funds and promoting darts in the community. 

The Junior Committee is headed by Alex Smith who has been assisting with the Junior Youth for several years.  Junior Youth Committee Members, Carol Huynen, Sue and Dave Fishwick, Scott Armstrong, Megan Smith, and Jeanne Silcock have a hands on approach assisting with the coaching on a weekly basis.  This is all very new to many of them and they are doing a fantastic job.

Many Thanks

anne

terry

Anne Mackle and Terry Managh are always busy at work raising funds for the Junior Youth in support of their travel and accommodation requirements for the National Championships in July and North Island Tournaments throughout the year.  Terry Managh has been running raffles in support of the Junior Youth for many years and Anne is constantly looking for support within our membership and throughout the wider community.  They are both truely committed and the Association is extremely grateful for their efforts.